Three observations our investment team took from company reporting season: 1
Three observations our investment team took from company reporting season: 1. Cost Cutting - Cost cutting programs across the board appear to be coming to an end. Economic conditions remain sluggish and companies have been reducing their cost bases in order to preserve profits. At this point in the cycle, companies typically return to strong revenue growth but we're yet to see this, particularly in sectors such as IT and retail. 2. Capital management - The preference by companies to return capital to shareholders rather than reinvesting back into the business was another common theme. 3. Small caps outperformed large caps - After two years of underperformance, small caps outperformed large caps for the month. During August, the four major banks and mining companies had a softer month relative to the overall market. Standout small cap performers include Slater & Gordon, Ardent Leisure, M2 Group Limited and Domino's Pizza.